The death toll from severe storms that roared across the US South has risen to 173, officials have said.

At least 85 people have died as storms devastated parts of the southern US.

A €500m Innovation Fund has been launched by the Taoiseach Brian Cowen at the New York Stock Exchange.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen will declare Ireland has turned a corner from economic doldrums during an official trip to the United States today.

SHADES of the US South’s racist past came creeping back this week just as the South could be poised to play a pivotal role in electing the nation’s first black president.

Presidential hopeful Barack Obama is pressing ahead with attempts to polish his foreign policy credentials, outlining his plans to keep America safe from nuclear, biological and cyber attacks.

Jamie Lynn Spears – the TV actress and teenage sister of pop star Britney Spears – showed off her newborn daughter today and told magazine readers of her “perfect” delivery.

Residents across the US south and midwest were hopeful that the weekend would bring some relief from brutal temperatures that have killed 37 people and set records for power demand.

SEVERE drought, gusty winds and high temperatures set the stage for the fires in Texas and Oklahoma that killed four people. Authorities believe they were mostly set by people ignoring fire bans and burning rubbish, shooting fireworks or throwing out cigarettes.

Twenty-two people lay dead and hundreds of homes were in ruins today in the wake of Hurricane Ivan.